Support for ironing tables



Dec. 8, 1953 J. SICZKIEWICZ, JR., ET AL SUPPORT FOR IRONING TABLES FiledJune 24, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l A-r-roauav Dec. 8, 1953 J. SICZKIEWICZ,JR., ET AL 2,661,554

SUPPORT FOR IRONING TABLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2 5 V1 fi F e w. lo

Filed June 24, 1950 Fl&. 4

. INVENTORS Jose?" S|cz| |w|cz,JR. BY Hansen? L. Vane-r ATTORNt-YPatented Dec. 8, 1953 SUPPORT FOR IRONING TABLES- Joseph Siczkiewicz,Jr., and Herbert L. Voig't, Milwaukee, Wis., assignors to Geuder,Paeschke & Frey 00., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of WisconsinApplication June 24, 1950, Serial No. 170,203

9 Claims. (01. 38-121) This invention relates to improvements in iron-1' ing tables or the like having crossed supports, the upper end of oneof the supports being slidably adjustable longitudinally of the table toeffectuate an adjustment of the height'thereof,

and particularly to a mechanism for locking such upper end in adjustedposition.

It is desirable that the ironing table bead- J'ustable in height so thatit may be varied to suit the heights of individual users or be used byone in a seated position. Heretofore ironing tables embodying thesecharacteristics have been unduly heavy and the supporting and adjustingmechanism complicated to use and expensive to manufacture.

An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide such an ironingtable which is relatively light in weight and is simple and safe tooperate and. adjust. r

A still further object of the invention is to provide an ironing tableof such type which will not collapse below a minimum height positionduring normal adjustment of the board and thus will prevent injury tothe user in making adjustments.

A further object of the invention is to provide such an ironing tablewhich may be inexpensively manufactured and yet be of rigid and strongconstruction.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ironing table of thetype described, the supports of which may be easily folded and retractedso that the board may be readily stored and shipped in a relativelysmall container,

The first three of these objects may be ob- 2. pletely collapsing withpossible injury to the person making the adjustment. However, such stopmember will swing out of the Way when the table is in vertical positionor inclined slightly therebeyond with its ironing surface downward;'this is the position in which the table is normally placed while thelegs are being folded. The stop member thus automatically acts as asafety device. The simple construction of the locking mechanism and stopmember combines to provide an adjustable table which is easily operated,sturdy, inexpensively made, and relatively light.

To obtain the last of these objects, the rear support terminates in atransverse foot which has telescoping extensions on each end whereby itslength may be increased to make the table more steady. When it isdesired to fold the supports and stow the table, the extensions may beretracted so that the length of the foot will not be greater than thewidth of the table and thus an over-size container is not needed to holdthe table. The front support also has a transverse foot attached to thesupport in such way that the foot may have limited rotation with respectto the support to let the foot adjust to the surface condition of afloor or other support upon which the table is positioned.

The novel features, which are considered characteristic of theinvention, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. Theinventi on itself, however, both as to its organizatained by providing aguide plate to hold the sliding end of the crossed supports, mounting alatch bar along one side of said guide plate so that it pivots on anaxis longitudinal of said plate, and providing a lateral projection onsuch sliding end which normally engages the latch bar to hold such endin a selected position. The latch bar has pin-engaging notches and isspringbiased toward such projection. It is provided with a handle whichextends toward the side of the table where it may be easily grasped tooperate the bar or to carry the table. A gravitybiased stop member isloosely mounted on the table so that when the table is inclined from thevertical with its ironing surface upward the stop of the member willpivot into the path of travel of the sliding end. Hence, whenever theboard is being adjusted to the desired height the stop member will fixthe minimum height osition and thus prevent the supports from comtionand its method of operation, together with additional objects andadvantages thereof, will best be understood from the followingdescription of a specific embodiment when read in connection with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of an ironing table embodying thepresent invention, a lower position of the table being shown in brokenlines;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the table of Fig. l with the supportsbroken away for sake of clarity in illustration;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4is an enlarged fragmentary view of the guide plate and latch bar, partbeing shown in 1plan and part in section for clarity of illustraion;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken on line 55 :ofFig. 3 showing the position of time safety stop member when the table ishorizon a Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view showing vtion.

Fig; 11 is an enlarged seetionalivi'ew taken. on.

the line |lll of Fig. 1. 7 v

Referring to the drawings by reference numerals, the ironing table ll)embodying the invention is provided with a top (2- of usual de Si n.pivoted intermediate their ends. The front support consists of a pair ofspaced tubes M and It the upper ends of which are pivoted at it to theunderside of top 2. The rear support. consists era pair of spaced tubes21} and 22', the upper ends of which are secured to a transverse bar '24slidable in a guide plate 26 in the manner hereinafter set forth. As thesliding end of the rear support is moved forwardly of the table (to, theleft as'viewed in Figs. 1, 2, and both su ports will swing toward thetop ['2 and the table will be lettered, Continuance of such slidingcauses the support tobe. completely. collapsed and lieflat against .theunder. surface of the top. With the table substantially verticalposition (see. Fig. 6) the front support maybe swung away from the topand the sliding end will move rearwardly of the, table (to the right asviewed in Figs. 1, 2., and 5) to bring the legs. into supportihgfposi-The guideplate 25 has a bottom 28 and side wallet!) and 32. and issecured to top I? by. being spotwelded or otherwise. fastened thereto.If desired the side walls may be strengthened byend walls 34 on, theguide plat-e25 which overlap and 4 path of travel of the pin 42. Eachopening 56 has an edge pressed out of the plane of the bar 50 to providean inclined or sloping portion 58 adapted to be engaged by the end ofthe pin A2 to cam the bar 50 outwardly as such pin is moved .rearwardly.Asimilar sloping portion to is also formed onth'e fi'ent endof bar 5i!to also contact the pin 42 and swing the bar outwardly when such pinfirst comes into juxtaposition with such bar. The bar 50 is normallyurged toward the side wall 30' by-a pair of springs 62 so that as thepin 42 comes into alignment with an opening 55 the bar '56 will inwardlyand the :pin 42 will enter This top i2 is mounted on crossed supports;

the opening. II the pin is moving rearwardly (toward rig-ht as viewed)its end will engage the sloping portion and cam the latch bar outwardlyto let the pin move to the next opening. However, if. the pin 42 ismoving toward the front of the table it will engage with the flat edgeof, the first openingv with which it comes intdeiigninent and its.travel .Will' be s'tbfil cd.

. Thereafterto perinilzl'the pin E2" to move are; secured to thesidewallsas indicated at 36.

The-si e Wall 32 :hasan inturned edge 38. which cooperates with thebottom to-formaguide -for the. end oi the transverse bar 24. The sidewall 301 has Ta longitudinallyextending slot 40, whichslidablyaccommodates a pin or projection l-lextendingoutwardlyiromthe-bar 24 to form a. guide for the o ther end of, such bar. Theends of.the transverse, bar 245 slidably engage. the sidewalls all 32- to.prevent longitudinal displacement of the bar and the top of rearsupport. Thus the slidingendof the crossed supports is guided during theadjustment and complete collapsingof such supports.. While not necessarythe side wall at). may have. anoutturned. flange V M which forms astopfand a partialcover or protection for-the latch bar. Also desirable butnot required isthe decreasing, of friction. and resistance to sliding byproviding the, bottom I 28 withridges upon which the transverse bar 2 lrests;

The locking of the slidingend in selected positions is accomplished by alatch bar 5i) which extends longitudinally along andad-j acent to theslot? The bariii is hingedor pivoted on hooks 52 projecting frombrackets 54 (only one shown) carried by the guide plate 26. These hooksproject through slots in.-thebar. 561 that. the hinge thus formed has anaxis extending: longitudinally of slide 30. The latch bar Ellmay-thusbe. swung toward and away from the pin 42. The bar.

sition with the slot Misc as to be in line with the forwardly,tnelatenbartt; must be manually swungeutwerm settler; his clear ortheenu ei thepinrlz'. This isaceolhpll shed by a handiesa which has two1eg s ttjse'eured to. the. bar. st. The

springs 62 extend between; suehlegs and the t'op ii being" centered. andheld by lugs in a wellknown manner. The handle. 64extends-longitudinally of the tabIeaGjaCI-ItitS. side. where it may beeasily graspedby the fingers while the palm is restin onthetop and.side-of thetable. Thusthe. tableinavbe held. andthe handle also operatedto the latch bar outwardly and free. the. in 42-. Thetable may thenbelowered as the sliding. end oftherear supportmaymove forward. in. theguide plate 26 without; interferenee from the latch bar '50.

Oneotthe essential features-or this invention isv the. provisionof. anautomatic safety stop to limit downward movement of thetop, and preventthe.supports.from.-collapsing even when the lock meter isnot.inclockingpositione If the'table is allowed'to completely dropwithout such stop/it willstrike the knees, shinsorinstepsof thepersonwl'io: operatingthe latchor catch his hands in the'supports.withpossibleinjury. The salet-y stop consists of a strap-like memberdl-having'an offset. lip- 68 inserted; ina-slot in the" bottom 2.81.130pivot 'suchmember tothe guide plate. The member has -aprojecting leg 72'slidab-le in another slot-1e in thebottom zge This leg may swing intothe pathr-of the bar fi l-and arresti'its forwardmnovernent. A tab'ldrbent'out effthe and the: supports-to-.-completely-afield: suchvertical position: thefweight'oi the table -issubstamtiallyrinactiverand there is'no element of:-sur+ prise or suddenrelease-oil forcewh-ich might cause a n: il i ens t g he ess mend-'32:th rear support have a fixed relationship with re-' spect "to eachotherand do not spread as they are lowered into table-supportingposition. It is necessary, therefore, to provide a transverse foot '18to which the ends of such legs are secured. This foot is of seamedtubular construction and has extensions 80 telescoped in each endthereof. The extensions 88 have rubber pads 82 for engaging the floor.In this construction the outer limit to which the extensions 80 may bedrawn is determined by the abutment of the outer ones of lugs 84 on suchextensions against an inturned portion 86 on the transverse foot 78. Thelugs 84 may be spaced on opposite sides of the rolled seam of the foot18 and thus prevent the extensions 88 from rotating. When fullycontracted the transverse foot has a length which is not greater thanthe width of the table.

However, when extended the rubber pads 82 project considerably beyondthe width of the table and thus greater stability is provided. The frontsupport also is provided with a transverse foot 81. This foot is securedto the tubular legs l4 and It by members 88 and 98 which rotatablyfrictionally fit within the ends of such legs. Such relative rotationpermits the axis of the transverse foot 81 to be shifted slightly withrespect to the horizontal when the table is in working position toaccommodate unevenness of the floor or other support upon which the feetare resting. When the foot 81 is so twisted there is some tendency forthe legs I4 and It to be moved out of parallelism. However, suchrelative adjustment between these legs is accommodated by the inherentspring therein. The front foot also has rubber pads. While it is notnecessary, the front foot 8! may also be provided with extensions as inthe case of the rear transverse foot I8.

Starting with the ironing table in completely collapsed position, themethod for setting it up and adjusting it will now be described. Thetable is placed in a vertical position with the rear foot 78 resting onthe floor and the weight being carried by the rear support and thatportion of the front support extending from the pivot to the rearsupport and the pivot l8. As so held the front support tends to becontinually urged toward the top I 2. By grasping the top l2 in one handand the front support in the other hand and moving the front supportaway from the top I2, both supports swing away from the top l2 intosupporting position. As this takes place the pin 42 moves intoengagement with the latch bar 50 and an audible click is heard as suchpin comes into alignment with the first notch or opening 56. The tablemay then be placed in horizontal position resting on the supports. Itwill then be in its minimum low working position. To adjust the table toa higher position the top I2 is grasped at the sides and liftedvertically. The pin 42 then automatically slides rearwardly from openingto opening as the supports swing downwardly. When the desired height isreached the vertical lift is ceased and the table will remain in suchposition if the pin 42 is then in a notch or opening 56. If the pin 42is not in a notch or opening 56 the table will lower slightly until thepin 42 moves into the notch or opening immediately to the front thereof.In order to move the top to a lower adjustment, the edges of the boardand also the handle 64 are grasped and the handle pressed toward the topreleasing the latch bar 50 from the pin 42. The table may then belowered as desired until the bar 24 finally reaches the safety ortemporary stop 61. Thereafter.

to complete the folding of the supports, the table must be tilted to asubstantially vertical position to release the safety stop as heretoforedescribed.

Although only one embodiment of the invention is shown and describedherein, it will be understood that this application is intended to coversuch changes or modifications as come end and extending laterally ofsaid guide, a I

longitudinally extending bar pivotally mounted with respect to said topon an axis parallel with and adjacent said path, said bar having aplurality of longitudinally spaced notches adapted to engage said pinwhen said bar is pivoted to- 1 Ward said guide, and spring meansnormally urging said bar toward said guide.

2. An ironing table as claimed in claim 1 in which a handle extends fromsaid bar to a place adjacent the edge of said table, said handle and barbeing swingable to move said notches out of the path of said pin. 1

3. An ironing table as claimed in claim 1 in which a handle secured tosaid bar has a portion extending longitudinally along and adjacent tothe edge of saidboard, and movable with said bar to bring said notchesout of the path of said pin- 4. In an ironing table or the like having atop supported upon crossed supports, an upper end of one of saidsupports for movement longitudinally of said top, a transverse bar onsaid upper end, said means including a plate secured to the under sideof said top and having sides providing a lateral guide for the ends ofsaid bar, one of said sides having an inturned flange overlying one endof said bar, a pin extending from the other end of said bar, a slot inthe other of said sides through which said pin extends, and lockingmeans carried by said plate and engageable with said pin to hold saidbar in selected position.

5. An ironing table as claimed in claim 4 in which said locking meanscomprises an elongated member pivoted to said plate adjacent to andswingable toward and away from said other side, said member having aplurality of spaced openings for engaging said pin, said member beingprotected by an outturned flange on said other side.

6. In an ironing table or the like having a top carried by crossed legspivoted together intermediate their ends, the upper end of one of saidlegs being slidably guided in a predetermined path along said top, meansfor controlling the position of said upper end comprising a projec tioncarried by said upper end and extending laterally of said top, a latchbar having a surface facing the end of said projection, said bar beinghinged and biased so that said surface is normal- 1y urged into contactwith said projection, and a plurality of spaced openings in said surfacefor receiving and engaging said projection when said projection is inalignment therewith.

7. An ironing table as claimed in claim 6 in which said surface hassloping portions engageatie with the' end ofsai latch bar 611twai1'dIy'a5 V -relatively longitudinally "thereof.

-7.. d proiecnon wearing: said sai -projection -is moved 8. In anadjustable and collapsible "ironing table; a'table top, a-pair ffpivotallvintercon- 'nected crossed legs providing anadju'stable andcollapsible support structure for saidtop a fixed transverse pivot pinconnection between said top and the upper end of one-"of-said legsra"sliding transverse pivot pin connected to the u per end of the otherleg, retaining guide means onsaid top slidably supportingthelast-mentiOned pivot pin,'-manually controllable latch means forretaining" the sliding pivot pin different'positions table, andeans-earned bysaid guide means abbVe Said sliding' piiidt pln forlimiting the movement of the slidable "pivot pin "in' the direction awayfrom said fixed pivot to prevent "ooll'apse of the tablewhil'e 'in use;said 'limiting means comprising a s'trap-like member having anofiset lipat theend thereof remote from said 'fixed t'ransv'erse pivot pin andaprojecting leg "at the other end thereof, said 'guide m'eans beingprovided with-slots for accommodating said lip and said leg, said lip'being pivotally mo'untedin "one of said slotsto -perniit saidstrap-like member to swing away fi'om-saidguide means and move said legto an operative position -in'the path Of movement'of saidslidihg'pivbtwhen SaIidSti2Jp 5 like member gravitates as the table-iss'et up foruse, said leg being slidable in the other of said slots tomaintain-"said "strap-like" member "with said-lip so pivotally mount dand topermit said *Iegtomove "to-an inoperative position "out of thepath of movement of Said sliding pivot when said strap-like membergravitates as'the table is "tilted inwardly.

a-tt'emporary. stop. intermediate through said guide platev 9. In anironing. table having =..a atop; supported 'upon cr'osse'd supports;a-longitudinallyiextending guideplateon saidtop, the. upper endpf-pne ofsaid supports beingsguided for. longitudinal movement.in a'predeterminedpathby, saidguideplate, the .1' ends of 1 said path. comprising astrap-like. memberxhavingian ofisetilip at one end and .a projectingrlegat the other end, said. guide. plate having a :pair ;'0f spaced.slots; said lip being .pivotally. mountedin one J of said slots andsaidvprojectingv leg vbeing slidablefinithe othenof saidi'slots,and:projeoting beyond'the sidelthereof remote from saidstrap-like memberand an abutment. on that :rpart of :sa'idtprojecting;=:leg beyond' saidguide-plate and engageable withs'aid guide plate to limit ithe outwardmovement :ni

said. leg with respect to 'saidiplaten.

JOSEPH SICZKIEWICZ,.JR.

L. VQIGT.

,Referenees Cited in the file, of this patent UNITED STA'IES PATENTS

